


Our House Shall Be Filled With Music

by pescado_diabolico



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Stream of Consciousness, Time Skips, implied yamaeiji, it's MY fic and I get to choose what music eiichi listens to, mentions of the rest of heavens, this fic is full of headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:47:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23491924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pescado_diabolico/pseuds/pescado_diabolico
Summary: In the future, their lives are peaceful and content, but the past still tugs at them, for better and for worse.
Relationships: Ootori Eiichi/Sumeragi Kira
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	Our House Shall Be Filled With Music

**Author's Note:**

> Finally... the fic I've been promising to write for Eiichi's birthday since September. This fic went through so many different variations until I finally wrote the majority of this in one setting. I was always going to write Eiichi/Kira, so that never changed. As the tags mention, this is also full of some of my headcanons for HE★VENS, both from myself and inspired by others, and a lot of the story is centered around them.  
> If you like this fic, consider leaving a kudos and/or a comment! Eiichi/Kira is one of my absolute favorite ships in UtaPri, and I'm so happy to finally get this out. It means a lot to me, and I'm glad I can share it with everyone now. Thank you!  
> Edit 5/4/2020: Please take a look at some amazing fanart drawn by [masatos-wig](https://masatos-wig.tumblr.com)  
> on tumblr for this fic, I'm incredibly touched to have inspired [this work.](https://masatos-wig.tumblr.com/post/617241193513877504/tanjoubi-omdetou-kirarin-what-better-way-to)  
> 

Eiichi _loves_ music.

Not that it surprises Kira, of course, who also loves music. It's something that has been intertwined throughout their lives, between their fingers, carried on their voices for many, many years, and something they were both prodded with, pushed towards, shoved into.

By all accounts, neither of them should like it in anything more than the abstract, in the soft, inoffensive pop music that Eiichi plays when they drive through the city because if it's anything more, then he'll stop paying attention to the road and focus on the instrumentation or key signature or tempo and Kira _really_ doesn't want to yank on the steering wheel to keep them from plowing into the statue in the middle of the roundabout near their apartment. Not again, anyway.

But they love it, they really do. Kira remembers being escorted to his first piano lesson, not more than four years old but already aware of his place as the heir apparent to his family's business, enough to carry himself like the young master he was, and his feet dangling off the piano bench as his teacher demonstrated how to place his hands on the keys and play a simple C-major scale, no black keys required. Kira remembers pressing the first key, and then pausing because the sound that rung out through the quiet room sent shivers down his spine and he's been hooked ever since.

As for Eiichi, well, music is in his blood in a way that it's not in Kira's. It comes with the territory when your father is an extremely successful one-hit wonder who used his earnings to fund his own record company. Eiichi also started young, also started on the piano but branched out to other instruments and became reasonably proficient at several but loves the guitar best. He loves it for its versatility, its mobility, and for the fact that it's not his father's instrument, not something his father ever bothered to learn (or any instrument beyond a couple rudimentary lessons with a keyboard), so his brain never formed the synapse to connect the two. And Kira loves it too, because it's Eiichi's favorite, and he loves Eiichi.

(Kira remembers one of their first dates, before they really understood what to call their new relationship and what it made them besides dear, dear friends who loved each other down to their blood vessels, their sinew, their bones. It was a picnic, during a warm spring afternoon on a day they both had off but the rest of their group mates didn't, somehow. They sat under a shady oak tree, and after they ate, Eiichi played his guitar, tunes Kira half-recognized as their own songs and others he figured didn't have names but were lovely nonetheless. When he stopped playing, Kira couldn't help but give Eiichi a kiss, which was followed by another, and another.)

Were it not for their love of music, they wouldn't have met, Kira supposes. _His_ propelled him from his family right out of high school, when they had expected him to attend university to study business or some other subject that would benefit their family, something his older sister had done before they married her off and his younger sister would do after, and then she'd be married too. _He_ was also supposed to get married, to a pretty, demure young woman from another wealthy family, whom he had met once at a party but knew immediately why his father was so insistent that they speak. They were both quiet, but Kira felt that it did not come naturally to her, not in the way it did for himself or his sisters, and suspected she was frightened of him, as many people were. This, along with a not insignificant amount of the teenage rebelliousness he had kept down for all of high school, and the restless, unfamiliar itch under his skin that told him to _leave, leave, leave,_ compelled him to speak with his father about his dream of pursuing music as a career. 

He refused, of course. In the few words they exchanged (no one in his immediate family could be called talkative), Kira made up his mind, and accepted being disowned by his father. With only a suitcase, he left the only life he had ever known for the promise of fame, but more importantly, his dreams.

Music was not his family's business, but it was _Eiichi's_.

Becoming an idol was something that had been decided for Eiichi before he was born, he never had a chance to say no (he did, though, he always did and he _knew_ it, but the fear of the unknown and the love he felt towards Eiji outweighed his hatred towards his father, until it didn't). He remembers dance lessons, vocal lessons, performing as a child in dramas or on variety shows. Those were clearer than most of the memories he had of his mother, but he was lucky he even remembered her, he supposes. He remembers her enough to know that Eiji inherited her soft, sad eyes and soft, sad smile and her soft demeanor, but Eiji has a spine of iron, something Eiichi suspects his mother didn't have. If she had it, she wouldn't have married his father, might've held on after giving birth to Eiji instead of fading away, and Eiichi _knows_ his father doesn't have it, and, if he's being honest, thinks he doesn’t have it either, because he has _too_ much his father in him. He doesn't actually know where Eiji got it, but he's glad he has it.

It's not that being an idol _wasn't_ fun. Oh, it was certainly exhausting to be in the public eye for the better part of three decades, never allowed to truly be his own person except in the dark, quiet moments that Eiichi had clung to greedily. But he loved the other members of HE★VENS more than his actual family (except for Eiji, who had the special distinction of being both his blood relative and a member of the group. He wouldn't want it any other way), and he appreciated and treasured their fans, who were the ones who made them what they were, not his father. And Eiichi truly loved being on stage, he loved performing at lives, the heat of the spotlights causing him to sweat as he danced and sang his heart out, adrenaline pumping through his veins, sheer exhilaration keeping him afloat. It was a life he loved, despite it being forced upon him, and Eiichi genuinely couldn't conceive of a life outside of the business, even after he retired.

Were it not for being an idol, he wouldn't have met Kira, so he can't begrudge the entire experience, even if there's a lot he _does_ resent. He's still working through it.

Perhaps, because neither of them could stand a truly silent life, and because they love music about as much as they love each other, that's why they stuck with it. Eiichi could never fully distance himself from the industry even if he wanted to (he can't decide if that's a good thing or not but it is most definitely a _thing_ ), but that didn't mean he had to work for his father, so he became a producer for another company, smaller than either Raging Entertainment or Shining Agency because as much as Eiichi cared about his friends/former rivals, he also wanted to make something of himself on his own, and so he does.

Kira, meanwhile, preferred his privacy a bit more. They were both kids, once, who had grown up under a measure of public scrutiny, and Kira loved performing too, he loved their fans and he loved singing and dancing for them, but he wore his discomfort with being around strangers like an ill-fitting suit, and it clung to him until he settled back home and felt that he could breathe again. A job that required him to meet new people too often did not suit him, shy creature of habit that he is, so he gravitated towards becoming a private music teacher.

(He _could_ have gone to work for the Sumeragi Conglomerate, he had reconciled with his father eventually, three or four years after he left home that humid June night, his spirit rumbling like the thunderstorm that threatened to spill over and eventually did. Kira was fine with no longer being the heir to his family even after being forgiven, and knew that it was for the best. He saw the distress it caused in Masato Hijirikawa, at first an awareness and then a rival and finally a friend, and felt lucky that that was not him, not someone he had become. But he wanted to continue to be his own person, and declined a position with the company. It was not something he regretted even once.)

Strangers were not something Kira handled easily, but children were fine. Caring for children wasn't new to him, he looked after his younger sister if his older sister and mother could not, and he had practically raised Nagi from an unhappy, abrasive kid to a reasonably content adult, so really it was fine. He loved seeing the look of wonder on his students’ faces when he played for them, and even if the piece wasn't complex they still reacted like he had performed Rachmaninoff's 3rd concerto. Kira wanted to nurture that feeling, that joy, that passion, because it had been the same for him, and were it not for that first lesson, he wouldn't have met his wonderful friends, he wouldn't have met Eiichi, and Kira genuinely can't conceive of a life without them, so he's happy.

Eiichi has his own protegés, the young men and women he supports as they work to become proper idols. He's fiercely protective of each and every one of them, and when young children, not more than twelve or thirteen, audition, he desperately wants to tell them to wait a few more years, to _enjoy_ being kids as long as they can because that's not something this industry allows. If they pass, he's the first to volunteer to produce for them, and he gets his way because he's Eiichi Otori, and even if that wasn't his name, his track record as both performer and producer proves his competency. He tries to make sure the younger ones still get to be kids when they can, and he keeps any sketchy directors or photographers or variety show hosts away from all of his idols, because even if someone didn't do it for him, he can damn well make sure it doesn't happen to anyone working with him. He kept Eiji safe when they were younger, and he kept Nagi and Shion safe when they were in HE★VENS, so this isn't new to him. He loves seeing the idols he produces debut, and he feels content helping someone achieve their dreams.

The others are happy post-HE★VENS too, even if the decision for the older members to retire meant that the entire group had to disband. Only Eiji remained in the industry, debuting as a solo idol a year after the break-up, because he's an Otori and music is in his blood. Eiichi always makes sure to attend his lives, and Kira joins him when he can, because he loves Eiji too, another quiet, kindred spirit whose soul burns with the blue flame of passion that his brother also possesses.

Nagi _could_ have continued being an idol as well, but a lost childhood and an existential crisis about growing up and his own self-worth meant that, after giving it more than a few minutes of thought, he took the out. He's attending university as a math major, and he and Shion share an apartment. Shion doesn't go to school, he's worse than Kira with strangers but especially crowds, so he attends therapy sessions to help with his anxiety once a week that Eiichi drives him to, and he visits the library and speaks with the little old ladies who feed pigeons in the park. Kira makes sure to visit every other day to help clean and make them food because neither is particularly good at living on their own, so they have to learn and they might as well learn together.

Van returned to acting, because he’s always been suited for performing, but he's begun doing stage work along with dramas and movies. His big personality and talent always shine through, and Kira suspects that he'll keep doing it until he has to be dragged off the stage by his geriatric ankles. He's too old to be an idol, but thirty-two is still young by many other metrics.

Yamato became a stunt-coordinator, and he loves the work more than he ever loved being an idol. He gets to be his rowdy, boisterous self, and his improving relationship with Ryuuya meant that he viewed the idol industry with less disdain than he had, but it also meant he had no reason to continue once HE★VENS disbanded. He and Eiji live together, nearly inseparable in their love, and Eiichi and Kira are happy for them.

Once a week, Kira and Eiichi host a dinner at their apartment for the others, because Sunday dinners were a tradition when they all lived together in Raging Entertainment's dorms, even when not everyone could make it. Usually, someone's still missing, because they have their own lives and while they're still tied together they're no longer _i_ _ntertwined_ in the same way, but Kira likes preparing the meals, and Eiichi is home more often than not now, so they cook together and it is deliciously domestic in such a way that Kira feels selfish for wanting but never guilty for having. He's earned it.

It's on a Sunday that their home is filled with music. It’s always filled with music, but this time in a more literal sense that Kira can hear it before he opens the door. It's muffled but distinct, and he recognizes it as one of the foreign rock bands from the 1980s that Eiichi is so terribly fond of. Kira enters, arms full of grocery bags, to find Eiichi vacuuming their apartment, wearing a headband to keep his bangs back but not the mask that Kira _insists_ he wears to avoid inhaling dust (they clean often enough that the apartment is never very dusty, but Kira is nothing if not a worrywart). He's singing as he works, loudly, enough to be distinct over the vacuum and what Kira now realizes is Queen, but Eiichi can't quite hit the particularly high notes so he opts to harmonize at the last minute instead. Kira listens, and wants to record Eiichi's version of “I Want To Break Free” minus the electric hum of the vacuum to listen to when they're apart for more than a few days because Kira wants to be greedy with Eiichi, wants to hoard him in his private moments when he lets his guard down and doesn't need to wear his confidence like armor. He does it less often around Kira, now that he doesn't need to be the leader of HE★VENS and he can just be Eiichi Otori, but Eiichi Otori is still an act, and Kira knows it and wishes he could just be Eiichi. He likes it when he's himself.

(Kira would also like to record a duet of the song with him, despite also leaning more towards the tenor-bass range, because he's sure he knows it well enough despite only listening to Queen around Eiichi, since it was one of Eiichi's favorite songs to sing at the karaoke bar when the older members of HE★VENS would go out for a few drinks and he had one too many. He tried to dance too, but he flailed his gangly limbs about with no regard for his own safety, so he tripped and fell on his ass during the bridge. Van and Yamato howled with laughter, until Van also fell forward, which made Yamato laugh even harder. Kira wasn't the type to shriek when delighted, but he didn't stop the amused chuckles that bubbled forth. He was only one drink in, he wasn't fond of getting drunk, but every once in a while, letting loose like that was nice.)

“Eiichi,” Kira calls out as he shuts the door with a light kick, straining a bit to be heard over the music and the vacuum. His voice is deep and resonant, but whether from practice or by nature, it is not particularly loud. The one time he was offered a voice acting job, he had to play an abrasive teenager with a penchant for shouting at his elders when angry (and he was _so_ angry, all the time), and he strained his vocal chords despite his best efforts, and vowed never to take such a job again.

Eiichi looks up at him, turns off the vacuum, and wipes the sweat from his forehead as he goes to the speaker to turn off the music. He cleans his glasses with the corner of the apron he wears when he does any housework more intense than the dishes, because he listens to _s_ _ome_ of Kira's housekeeping advice. His face alights with a grin as he moves to give Kira a kiss. He goes for the lips but Kira turns his head while changing into his house shoes, so he kisses his cheek instead, and while that's not _bad_ , it's not what he wanted.

“I've been cleaning all morning while you were out, and _this_ is how you thank me? Babe, I'm hurt,” Eiichi says with a mock pout.

The nicknames started after HE★VENS disbanded, once they started living alone together, and they could call each other a plethora of mushy pet names. Well, Eiichi called Kira a plethora of mushy pet names, like _babe, baby, sweetheart, darling, precious, treasure_ and he was _delighted_ to learn that Reiji had dubbed Kira “Kirarin” when they first met, and he took to calling him that when he was feeling especially mischievous and wanted to get under his skin. Kira, meanwhile, stuck to a first-name basis with Eiichi, but employed a well-placed _my love_ when he wanted to make Eiichi swoon.

_Angel_ was off-limits, for obvious reasons. Say something enough times and it loses all meaning, and neither of them wanted these little moments of tenderness to be lost.

“Did you... clean the bathroom?”

“Babe—”

_“Eiichi.”_

“Yes, I did, and you can see for yourself.” Eiichi took the groceries from Kira's arms as he headed to inspect the bathroom and yes, it was clean. Kira never expected he would need to scold (gently, gently, always gently) a thirty year-old man about cleaning toilets, but here he is.

(For all his touchiness, Eiichi _hates_ filth, and hates to deal with excrement of any kind, even when wearing gloves. It's why they don't have pets.)

Kira returns to the kitchen, where Eiichi's already cleaning off the vegetables for tonight's meal. At least he's reliable around the house for other things. He hangs his coat and scarf on the coat rack and rolls up his sleeves to join in Eiichi in their meal prep. He bumps his hip against Eiichi to get his attention, and before he can speak, Kira kisses him, on the lips.

“Thank you,” he says, and he takes a bunch of scallions and starts scrubbing the dirt off of them.

Eiichi makes a pleased sound, and slips an arm around Kira to briefly squeeze him against his side. “Love you,” he says, and he can't hide the grin in his voice.

Neither can Kira, because he's smiling before he realizes it. “Love you too.”

The sunlight streams into the kitchen from the window above the sink, and the faint scent of basil and mint reminds Kira that he needs to water his little herb garden. He doesn't have the knack for gardening like Eiji does, their balcony is not an overgrown riot of color and life, but he likes to keep a small herb garden. When they lived at the Raging Entertainment headquarters, he and Eiji took care of a vegetable garden, because the building was a bit far away from the city and the fresh stuff always tasted better. Kira misses it, sometimes, and he misses living with all of them, but he knows he’s happier here.

He's happier here because he gets to have Eiichi to himself, and Kira is greedy, greedy, greedy, but only when it comes to him. Eiichi's hair catches the sunlight in a way that it almost looks like it's glowing, it's shot through with strands gold and red and the occasional white, but he hasn't started greying at his temples, and his father, bastard that he is, still has a full head of hair, so Kira's not worried.

(He's only a _little_ worried for himself, because early grey and a receding hairline runs in the men on his mother's side, but he's also not worried, because _E_ _iichi_ has a belly in his future if he takes after his father in his drinking habits. Kira makes sure he doesn't drink too much after work.)

“Eiji can't come tonight,” Eiichi says. That's not too unusual, because he's still an idol and he has a busy schedule to keep. Still, Kira misses his old cooking companion.

“What about… the others?”

“Van's play had its final show on Friday so he has the weekend off, Yamato said he'll pick him up. Bet he's lonely since Eiji's still on tour.”

Kira hums in agreement. He doesn't bring up Nagi and Shion because he knows Eiichi will pick them up while he adds the final touches to the meal and waits for Van and Yamato. Nagi will complain about his classwork and how he just has _so much_ (he does) and that he needs to work on it instead of going to their dinner, but he's still scrawny and short, he never quite hit a growth spurt and is only _just_ taller than Eiji, so Kira still frets over him and makes sure he's fed. Nagi can cook, passably, he's good at picking things up quickly, but relies on microwaved meals and fast food for sustenance more often than not, and Shion has always had a habit of forgetting to eat. Even when apart, Kira still feels like their surrogate mother.

“Eiichi?” Kira asks, because even though he loves this comfortable silence that's settled between them, he wants something. “Will you… turn on your music… please?”

Eiichi's smile has been called many things: intense, unsettling, creepy, sexy, seductive, unhinged. But to Kira, whenever that wide crooked smile stretches across his lips, he just looks adorable. It's a part of himself that he allows to slip through, and all Kira sees is a man who feels deeply, far too deeply to be good for him, and happiness pours out from him like an overflowing vessel.

He loves music very much, after all, and so does Kira.

The music is softer now, both in tone and literal volume, because Eiichi knows Kira hates it when things get too loud. He wore earplugs during their lives, and he said it was to protect his hearing, which wasn't a lie and they were all lucky he had such sensitive hearing because it made singing in harmony much easier when someone could tune by ear, but only Eiichi knew it was also to keep him from being overwhelmed by the noise, from feeling like it was crowding in around him and consuming him until he couldn't focus properly. It's different to practice in an empty arena than to perform in a full one, and Kira didn't attempt to become a concert pianist for a reason after HE★VENS, even though Eiichi knows he has the talent for it when Kira says he most certainly does not.

Kira tries to pick up on the song, but it's in English again, and while he's not terrible at it, he doesn't have the same affinity as Eiichi does, so he picks out words here and there but never gleans any meaning.

But Eiichi understands, and it's clear that he _l_ _oves_ this song. He loves all the songs on his phone, but Kira knows his favorites are the ones that make him sway or sing along, and Eiichi's doing the latter while chopping the scallions Kira washed earlier, and Kira falls in love with this charming, strange, _painfully_ adorable man all over again.

“What are… we listening to?”

Eiichi's expression perks up whenever he gets to talk about his music. “Elton John, baby, one of his early hits.” He sets the knife down, runs his hands under the faucet, dries them, and wraps an arm around his waist so he doesn't have to touch Kira with his damp hands. “C'mon, let's dance.”

And because Kira cannot bring himself to deny Eiichi anything, he follows him, as he’s always done. Eiichi draws him into his arms in the living room, one hand on his lower back, and the other intertwining with the fingers on his left hand. It's a familiar position, one they take when they want a peaceful time, alone, after the sun has set and they've both had some wine with dinner, and the only thing they can think about is each other. Kira rests his head on Eiichi's shoulder, as he always does when they're like this, and they sway along, gentle.

Eiichi always sings when they dance like this, and even if Kira can't really understand him, he knows Eiichi is singing a love song from the way he's smiling, the way he looks at him when he says certain lines. When they reach the final chorus, Eiichi lifts their arms and Kira lets himself be spun, and he dips him as the song fades out. They're close, so close, and Kira leans up to kiss him, but a familiar piano melody trills into the room, and Kira groans.

“Why do you… have _that_?” He asks as Eiichi chuckles and brings him to his feet.

“Because it's you, darling, _this_ is your song, and it's cute.” And it is, in a very literal sense. Kira wrote the lyrics, had a hand in the composition, and recorded himself playing the piano for it (he _could_ have gotten one of the studio musicians to do it, but Kira felt that it was important that he put a lot of himself into this particular solo, it was for their dear angels, after all). He didn't hate the song, he was still proud of it, but he was also deeply, _fundamentally_ embarrassed by its saccharine sentimentality.

“And the playlist is on shuffle, so I can’t choose what song comes on next.” Kira goes to change the song, but Eiichi grabs his hand to stop him. It’s old and Kira doesn’t shy away from hearing their old songs (not like Nagi, who can’t stand to listen to any HE★VENS song where he sings because he hates to be reminded of the way he sounded, the way he acted before his voiced dropped), but _he_ knows who the song is about.

Kira sulks on the couch, sullen, and Eiichi drapes himself across his shoulders from behind, kissing his temples. “I love all your songs, you go from sexy to sweet and back again like it’s nothing and I’m genuinely amazed.” Eiichi had difficulty projecting any sort of cuteness in his music and most people don’t believe he’s capable of it, but Kira knows better. Kira knows the way Eiichi looks when he sleeps, his gentle smiles when he’s enjoying his coffee, and, naturally, how comfortable, how truly happy he looks when he’s singing whatever he wants.

They couldn’t do that as idols, they were given certain parameters so as to maintain their images, and they were very good at that.

The song’s still going when Eiichi begins to sing along with it. He moves to kneel in front of him and takes Kira’s hands as he sings the second verse, and Kira feels the tips of his ears begin to warm and a shy smile starts to form, despite having written those lyrics about awkwardness and frantic heartbeats based on his own feelings about the man in front of him. It’s strange to have his words turned back on him, but not unpleasant.

Eiichi knows he’s getting to him. He can’t finish singing as he begins to laugh softly. “I still don’t know how you managed to get those lyrics approved,” he says. “They make it obvious you were in love with _someone_.”

Kira shrugs. “Maybe… they didn’t notice… or thought it was unrequited.” He thanks whatever higher power there is that it _wasn’t_ , and kisses Eiichi as he pulls him into his lap.

Eiichi’s favorite place to be is in Kira’s arms, or his lap, so he scrambles up to hold Kira’s neck and kiss his jawline. “Well, the rest of us noticed, and I’m so lucky I get to hear you say that kind of stuff whenever I want.” He’s grinning, Kira can feel it against his neck, and he wants to be annoyed but he can’t muster up even a molecule of irritation.

So, he opts to turn the tables. Kira cups Eiichi’s cheek with his hand, sweeping his thumb across his cheekbone, and kisses him, lovingly, gently, sweetly. His lips are soft and still taste a bit like his morning coffee, and when Kira pulls away, he can see stars in Eiichi’s eyes.

Kisses are the easiest way to get Eiichi flustered, but Kira doesn’t know if Eiichi’s ever been flustered in his entire life, as fond as he is of showering people in praise to the point of embarrassment. It’s no surprise that his bashfulness doesn't last long, and a wide grin stretches across Eiichi's face.

“You're so good to me, I don't know what I'd do without you,” he says as he stands back up. He offers a hand to Kira, who takes it with practiced grace.

“Probably… bother Eiji incessantly… until he snaps.” Kira can't hide his smile as he hears Eiichi's mock-offended gasp.

“My brother has the patience of a saint!” Eiichi's mustering all the indignance he can gather, but it doesn't stop him from tugging on Kira's hand as they make their way back to the kitchen. “He always has time for me.”

Kira begins to pull out a variety of spices and salts, standing over a large pot at the stove. He pours in a cup or two of chicken stock, and begins to measure out other ingredients for the soup. “Perhaps… he and I… had our own conversations… about you.”

“What’d you say about me?” Oh, there's a touch of hurt in Eiichi's voice now. He may be full of bravado and bluster, but there's a part of him that bruises easily when his pride is at stake, and he wants to be loved by those he loves back with equal fervor.

Kira turns away from the stove and kisses Eiichi's cheek. “I said… there’s no one else… who I respect and trust more… and that… I wouldn’t want… to spend the rest of my life… with someone else.” He tucks a stray piece of hair away and brushes his fingertips across Eiichi’s cheek.

The effect is immediate. Eiichi practically melts at the touch and his smile, usually holding a sardonic or playful edge, was fleece-soft and warm. He closes his eyes and sighs at the touch, and when he opens them again, they’re sparkling with unshodden tears. He opens his mouth to say something, and Kira prepares to hear his own declaration of love when—

“I think the soup is boiling over.” Kira turns and finds that Eiichi is correct, it’s starting to bubble at the very top of the pot. With a muttered curse, Kira turns the heat down and brings his attention back to the meal.

Eiichi chuckles and pulls the meat out of the fridge to prepare for the meal, and listening to him work, Kira feels a deep sense of peace within his bones, and a softly hummed tune escapes from between his lips.

After all, they wouldn’t be together without music.

**Author's Note:**

> Songs referenced in the story:  
> [I Want To Break Free— Queen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4Mc-NYPHaQ)  
> [Your Song— Elton John](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOUVuviI3pM)  
> [恋の温度–melt into one- — Kira's Solo from Anthem for the Angel](https://jupiter-e-no-chikai.tumblr.com/post/183483447219/please-support-the-original-if-you-can)


End file.
